Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The prophet Isaiah tells us today to “[s]eek the Lord while he may be found, call him while he is near.” He goes on to remind us that our way of thinking and viewing the world is not always the same as the way God sees us: “As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts.” This reality is not always easy for us to digest; we often try to fit God into our conceptual boxes, forgetting the infinite difference…
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The Gospel last Sunday showed us the importance of offering a word of correction to a sinner. If your brother sins against you, Jesus says, we must tell him his fault. It is an act of charity to tell someone their sin, as it opens up the possibility of reconciliation and conversion. Sin tears, and separates us not only from God, but from one another and even, interiorly, from our true selves. When we follow our Lord’s command to speak to our brothers and sisters, neighbors, and others to offer charitable fraternal correction, we…
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Starting last week and continuing over the next several weeks, you may notice some new faces in the sanctuary. Fr. Brendan has trained a new group of altar servers and they are getting their first experiences of serving at the liturgy. They are stepping into an incredibly important role which can, at first, be intimidating. If you happen to see some of our new servers after Mass, you might share a word of encouragement with them. And if you have a child in your family who is interested in serving at the altar, please…
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, If the words of Lord Acton are true, then power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Last week, the Gospel showed us the authority given to Peter, an authority that, in a certain way, is absolute. To Peter is given the authority, the power, to forgive sin and to teach the truth about Jesus. Just a few verses later, however, as we will hear in the Gospel today, Peter oversteps his authority, perhaps even tries to assert an authority he does not possess. Hearing the Lord’s prediction of suffering and death, Peter says no.…
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, If not for Sunday taking liturgical precedence, August 27 would be celebrated as the feast of St. Monica. August 28 is the feast of her son, St. Augustine – and also Fr. Eric Silva’s birthday. This mother-son duo is incredibly important in the list of the saints. While St. Augustine is one of the greatest minds in western civilization, an important theologian and philosopher, the inventor of the literary genre “autobiography,” and one of the most prolific Latin writers in history, his eventual conversion to the Catholic faith came about because of the many…
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